Magpie writes: I just got this email from a Tolkien acquaintance on staff at Wheaton College.
“Greetings one and all!
Today marks the beginning of Tolkien Week, and I hope you enjoy every last minute of it. If you haven’t heard, Wheaton College has started a student club (that actually includes Faculty and Staff as well) called the Wheaton College Tolkien Society! It will be a joy to celebrate Tolkien Week and Hobbit Day with that group of people this year.And if you want to vicariously partake in some Tolkien Week activities, I’ll be on WETNWheaton College Radio this Tuesday morning (September 20) sometime between 8:30am and 9am. Tune in and join in the fun! I’ll be plugging Tolkien Week, Hobbit Day, and the WCTS.PS – Some of you on this list might be new to the whole “Tolkien Week” thing. Explanation here: http://www.americantolkiensociety.org/hobbit_day_and_tolkien_week.htm(It’s a whole week of celebrating Tolkien and his works, established by the American Tolkien Society. Tolkien geeks unite!) ;)”
Join in the fun with TORn Tuesday! LIVE at 5pm Quickbeam will be talking about all things DragonCon 2011 and his adventures on the road to it! As always talk with folks in Barliman’s chat room LIVE. Check out the broadcast in our LIVE event section tonight at 5pm PST! [LIVE Event Area] (See All Times)
Jim Beverly and his wife Holly Holt give a quick interview for the live broadcast of TheOneRing.net's coverage of DragonCon. A veteran of Iraq, Beverly credits J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings for helping him recover after war injuries in 2003.
Enraged, his knee and hands wrecked by shrapnel from the grenade that infamously disintegrated the hand of a Time writer, the 19-year-old private Jim Beverly lay in his hospital bed.
“It was almost like it was a personal insult that a guy would throw that grenade,” Beverly said.
Teeth were missing, bandages covered wounds from minor to devastating. His Kevlar vest and helmet undoubtedly saved his life, absorbing most of the pieces of metal that would have pierced a lung and skull. He still seethed as a 2003 casualty of the war in Iraq, recovering in Kaiserslautern, Germany away from what was left of his unit being profiled as part of Time Magazine naming the American Soldier the person of the year in 2003.
Geek Kon is a relatively young gathering, started in 2007 by students and alumni of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The fifth con was held this weekend, September 9 to 11, with 1400 fans attending. There were three Tolkien-related events, allinvolving David Salo, an expert on the professor’s invented languages.
David’s main contribution to the scholarly study of those languages has been his book A Gateway to Sindarin. He also, however, acted as the “Tolkien linguist” for Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. In that capacity, he translated phrases and passages from the script into various Middle-earth languages, primarily Elvish. David also devised passages in Khuzdul (the secret language of the dwarves), including choral portions in the musical score for the scenes in Moria. David also translated the phrases seen engraved on the swords and other armaments, and he recorded readings of his translations for the language coaches to use in training the actors.
(I have known David for years, and in September of 2004 I interviewed him for my book, The Frodo Franchise. I used material from that interview in Chapter 3, “Handcrafting a Blockbuster,” pp. 95-6.)
I don’t think it has been publicly announced yet, but fans will be delighted to know that David is currently performing the same tasks for The Hobbit. Although his contract obviously restricts him in what he can say about the actual filming, his first talk shared with us what he could reveal. Continue reading “David Salo, Linguistic Consultant for The Hobbit, speaks at Geek Kon”
TheOneRing.net, with major sponsor The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, is returning the Road! While DragonCon may be coming to a end today, the journey continues for our fellowship of drivers as they take the long road back from Atlanta, GA to Los Angeles, CA. The road warriors will begin their trip at approximately Noon ET and will drive straight through over the next few days, stopping along the way to meet up with fans and see some famous places. So while we had occasional non-live elements to DragonCon, we will be back to our LIVE as much as humanly possible for the remainder of the trip. If you have not been following the news, we are on a multi-day road trip to (and from!) DragonCon and, for the first time ever, broadcasting the entire trip 24/7 LIVE via Stickam.com. You can interact with the travelers in our Barliman’s chat, as well through twitter and Facebook. And of course, you can email them atroadtrip@theonering.net. And even better, we’ve set up a special phone number so you can call and text our travelers: 970-210-6130. We have a special sub site set up to follow their progress – just follow the link. [LIVE] And don’t’ forget to support our sponsors: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Badali JewelryandAnglotopia! [Roadtrip to DragonCon Sub Site] [Support the Trip – T-Shirts]
Since the last panel was packed and standing room only, DragonCon has added another segment of our Hobbit panel today at 5:30pm ET. Like the one from Comic-Con, we will LIVE stream the entire panel, including any questions and audience participation. [TheOneRing.net LIVE] [DragonCon.org]
